The accused Randall’s Island rapist was convicted this week five years after he sexually assaulted two women at the park below the RFK (Triborough) Bridge, prosecutors announced Wednesday.
Terence Banks, 57, was found guilty late on Tuesday of sexually assaulting a 15-year-old girl and raping a 47-year-old woman at the greenspace in two separate attacks during the pre-pandemic summer of 2019.
Over the course of the trial, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said on May 15, a jury heard overwhelming evidence that Banks sexually assaulted a young girl and a woman less than 100 yards from each other and just two weeks apart.
According to court records, the first attack took place on July 17, 2019, at around 3 p.m. and saw Banks target a 15-year-old who was skateboarding along Randall’s Island when he approached her and began peppering her with lewd questions. When she attempted to flee, Banks apparently used one arm to choke his victim and drag her into a secluded area.
“I’m going to teach you a lesson for being alone,” Banks disgustingly told his victim. “No one is going to hear you scream.”
The sicko then apparently stuffed his hand into her shorts and sexually assaulted her as she attempted to break free until, he ultimately, released her.
Mere weeks later, on Aug. 22 of the same year, Banks snuck up on a 47-year-old woman as she was perched on a rock reading a book along Randall’s Island beach and grabbed her by the mouth and nose.
“Don’t make a sound, I’ll kill you, I’ll break your f—ing neck,” Banks told his victim before slamming her to the ground and brutally and repeatedly raping her. He then beat her until she fell unconscious before trying to conceal her with nearby debris.
Banks was ultimately tracked down and arrested by detectives with NYPD Special Victims in October 2019.
“Terence Banks was convicted by a jury of violently sexually assaulting a child and brutally raping a young woman just two weeks apart, turning two summer days on Randall’s Island into the scene of horrific crimes,” District Attorney Bragg said. “Everyone should be able to use our city’s parks exactly as these New Yorkers were – skateboarding and reading – without fear for their safety. I admire the bravery of these survivors for taking the stand and thank the jury for its careful consideration of their testimony and the evidence before them. Finally, I thank the prosecutors from our Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Bureau for the care and dedication with which they approached this case.”
Banks was convicted on counts of predatory sexual assault, first-degree sexual abuse and endangering the welfare of a child. He faces a maximum term of life in prison when he is sentenced on July 19.
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